The Royal Dethroning Diversion
by NerdForestGirl
Summary: The group is playing Dungeons and Dragons. This story takes place inside the game and is functionally an alternate universe story. Seven heroes need to find a Gem in order to save their village. All characters, but a focus on Sheldon and Amy.


Sheldon put out chips and grabbed Amy's glass of wine to hand her. He usually didn't like when the girls joined them for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, but every now and again, he liked having a campaign with lots of people. Plus it was a bonus when Amy joined in on his hobbies. She'd been so busy at work lately that he would have been happy to do just about anything with her.

Amy looked at her character sheets that Sheldon helped her build the night before. She and Sheldon were both mages, though Sheldon was more experienced and powerful. Then they all set out their figures and dice and everything was ready to get started. Amy listened carefully when Leonard started describing the situation.

Seven people walked out into the snow covered clearing. They had been sent on a mission to find the Gem of Knowledge to save their small village from the king who wanted to take it over and send all of the citizens to the mines to work the rest of their days. Only the Gem could save them now. Not even their various skills and magic worked against the evil king and his men.

"Beware: There be trolls in these woods," Leonard warned them as the crew took their first furtive steps into the trees. He had Sheldon cast a spell to quiet their foot steps, so that they might silently make their way to the caverns where the Gem was rumored to be kept.

The large group made their way through the woods. They were roughly 20 kilometers when Raj let out a scream as he fell to the ground. Everyone scrambled to run when they heard a large crash behind them, but in the chaos, they made more and more noise. It came to the point where they decided that they needed to turn and fight rather than run because it was clear that whatever was chasing them was gaining ground.

They turned around to discover that a large troll was on their trail. It was grey with mottled skin and a terrible smell. Everyone drew their weapons and prepared to attack. They each in turn went down the line with various levels of success, but none vanquished the troll.

It was Amy's turn, and she picked a spell that was strong, but only had a small chance of working. Still, she thought she might be able to save them all and defeat the troll. Since she was still learning, this was risky, but she wanted to prove herself to the group.

The spell backfired and nearly hit her. If Sheldon hadn't used his energy to deflect it, she would likely be dead now. The only problem was that it gave the troll an opportunity escape. Yes, it was wounded, but it would heal. And even worse, it would likely come back with some of its friends. Or as close to friends as trolls ever had. Instead of killing the troll and trying to move safely through the forest, they had possibly increased their risk.

For now, though, they still had a mission to find the Gem. Their village was still in peril if they did not complete their mission. There was no going back just because there was danger ahead. They all knew that this was a risk when they set out. They continued on.

"I could have defeated that troll. You know that he will return with reinforcements, and trolls are dumb on their own. They remain dumb in groups, but they are strong. If we all die, this is on you, Amy," Sheldon told her as they walked through the woods.

"Why didn't you just kill the troll?" Leonard asked. After hours of walking in this forest, he was tired of listening to Sheldon complain about how he could have killed the troll if not for Amy. Obviously, he did not wish Amy ill, but the constant complaints were driving him crazy.

"And risk the woman I love? We both know that she had a very small chance of surviving had I not intervened," Sheldon pointed out.

"Aww," Bernadette cooed.

"It is not sweet. I was a better warrior on my own," Sheldon growled.

"Well, maybe you should be on your own. Next time, do not save me. I am on this mission to save our village just like everyone else. If you think I am such a risk, then let me die next time," Amy lashed out. Then she walked ahead of the group alone for a few kilometers until Penny and Bernadette joined her.

"He was only scared that you would die," Penny comforted Amy. "I do not believe he would know what to do without you. He is not really angry."

"I was only attempting to vanquish the troll. I might have failed, but I never expected the spell to blow up in my face like that."

"We know," Bernadette told her with a comforting pat on her armored arm.

"Amy, return to us," Sheldon commanded in a firm voice from behind her. Amy turned to tell him off, but she saw the unabashed fear on his face. Amy thought of Penny's words that Sheldon was afraid of losing her. She and the other girls returned to the guys to find out what was going on.

"There are signs of a dragon near," Leonard explained as he pointed out broken tree branches that were clearly damaged by a large flying creature. It was important that the group stay closer together as they continued on. Each with their weapons drawn in case of attack.

When they caught sight of the dragon ahead on it's hoard of gold, Sheldon pushed Amy behind him with his arm. Amy just pushed her way back to his side. Yes, she was a less experienced mage than he was, but she was no child. This was her fight too, and it was time for Sheldon to trust in all of the training he gave her.

"Perhaps we should try to go around," Penny whispered to the group. This dragon and its treasure were not their goal. There was no need to start a fight here.

Leonard nodded and pointed the way that they should head, but they did not escape the notice of the scaly monster ahead. Amy was stunned by the gust of wind that came as the great beast took flight to start its attack on the group. She almost wanted to step behind Sheldon again, but held her ground.

As with the troll, each in the group took in turn an attack against the beast. Amy's turn was third this time, and she used a tried and true, though less effective spell against the dragon. It was the safer course even if it made her feel ineffective. It did a small amount of damage, and Amy then watched on as Bernadette readied her bow and arrow to take her shot.

They went down the line, and Amy was in awe of Sheldon's power at his attack even if she was still angry with him. The spell he cast did a great damage to the dragon, but it was Howard's blow from his sword that finally defeated the dragon.

"We won!" Leonard shouted. He rushed forward to inspect the treasure hoarded by the dragon.

"Careful, Leonard," Sheldon yelled after him. There was always the risk of a trap.

The group all ventured forward to look through what was left behind. Amy wondered if they might even come across the Gem here. Of course, it was supposed to be hidden away in the caverns in the hills, but perhaps the dragon had stolen it.

"What is this?" Amy asked as she picked up a small golden circle attached to a chain. She showed it to Sheldon. Of all of them, he was the most knowledgeable about objects of the realm.

Sheldon snatched it out of Amy's hand before pressing a kiss right to her lips.

"You found it, my love," he told her.

"The Gem?" Amy asked. It looked more like a coin than a gem. She wondered at the name.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "It is a compass. It's a powerful magic item that will lead us right to the gem. You as good as found it." He turned to the rest of the group. "Forget this treasure, you fools. We've found the way to the Gem."

The rest of the group quickly stuffed their bags with what they could. There was no reason to leave this all behind. Even a handful of the shiny coins or jewels could pay for the damage the evil king had done to their village and then some.

Sheldon led the group forward out of the forest and toward the mountains where the caves lay. The flatlands that were between the group and their goal felt exposed. Yes. They could see if any enemies approached, but any enemies could also easily spot them. If any of the evil king's men were watching for them, they might be doomed.

Still, they walked on. The compass directed them forward, and in their excitement, the group became careless. They were not as watchful as they ought to have been, so they did not notice the troll returning with its friends until they were much bigger than dots on the horizon. They couldn't be more than a few kilometers away when Bernadette let out a scream.

"Shh," Howard warned as he covered Bernadette's mouth. They all saw the group of trolls on the horizon now. There was nowhere to hide, but there were also four trolls stalking toward them without even an ounce of hesitation.

"We are doomed," Bernadette proclaimed when her husband moved his hand.

"We must put up a fight," Leonard argued.

"Can we run?" Amy asked. They were so close to the goal of the Gem. She saw no issue with running even if it wasn't the brave thing to do.

"There is no way." Howard told them.

"So, we fight," Penny said bravely. She took up her axe and set her shoulders toward the oncoming trolls.

Leonard stood next to her. They shared a look of solidarity and stood ready to fight.

"We shall fight, but we will be smart about it," Sheldon pointed out. Then he quickly sketched out a plan to fight the trolls when they arrived.

Since Raj and Bernadette were the archers of the group, they were expected to start the fight. They were both good at long range attacks, but were less valuable for hand to hand fighting. Sheldon then insisted that he and Amy find hiding places flanking Raj and Bernadette where they could wield their magic.

"Why do you get to hide?" Howard asked. He was upset that his wife was being risked while Sheldon and Amy went to hide.

"We are staying out of the way, but we will be fighting," Sheldon swore. Then they arranged for Howard, Leonard, and Penny to get in formation to do their closer range fighting after Raj and Bernadette fall back.

"Go," Sheldon urged when it was clear that time was running short.

He hated separating from Amy, but he knew that despite his earlier complaints, she was well trained in the magical arts. They had met when she appeared on his doorstep, led there by Raj and Howard to train in magic. She was beautiful and gifted and Sheldon did something he always swore he would never do; he fell in love with one of his students. She was the only reason he was here now. If it had been up to him, he would have run from the evil king instead of fighting.

The arrows from Raj and Bernadette started flying, and they were making small, but real hits against the group of trolls who came steadily towards the group. Then, when the trolls were in range, Sheldon and Amy started their magical attack.

Everything Amy did was calculated and careful. She wasn't channeling her strongest powers, but with Sheldon across the clearing, there was no one to save her. She kept shooting the trolls with mild spells that did some damage but would likely kill none.

When the group took down the first troll, they all shouted in celebration, but they didn't have long to celebrate. The trolls continued to attack without even acknowledging their fallen comrade. When Raj and Bernadette fell back to continue shooting from behind the others, Bernadette turned to get one more arrow off when she was hit by one of the troll's club. Sheldon was able to use his magic to move her safely away, but it was clear she was out for the rest of the fight.

Howard wasn't focused on his fight because his wife was injured, and he was the next to go down with a well placed swing of the troll's fist. As the group continued to fight, it still wasn't clear that they would win. With two of their group members hurt, the fight was even less fair than it had been before.

A second troll went down, but it took Penny and Raj with it in its giant fall. Leonard used his increased anger to single handedly take out the third troll, but he was soon bested by the fourth. No one was dead, but they were all critically injured. There was no way that any of them could continue fighting. It was only Sheldon and Amy left who could take this last troll on and continue to find the Gem.

Sheldon stepped out from behind the rock where he was hidden to face the troll himself. He was often considered heartless by those who didn't know him well, but he had just witnessed the terrible assault on his best friends, and he was angry. He pulled all of the power he held deep inside himself and aimed it at the last troll standing in front of him.

Amy expected the troll to be vaporized, but it wasn't. Something had gone wrong in Sheldon's spell. With someone as powerful as he, it was unlikely, but still possible. It didn't return on him the way that Amy's had, but he dropped to his knees with weakness. And the troll was stepping closer to him.

Amy closed her eyes and thought of everything that Sheldon had ever taught her. She didn't care if the spell bounced back like it had before. Not if doing nothing cost her her love. Amy closed her eyes and sent this troll the same spell that failed and bounced back in the first fight. With all that she had, she aimed that spell toward the troll that was closing in on the only man she had ever truly loved.

It worked. The troll collapsed.

Amy ran forward to Sheldon. He put his hand up to show her that he was fine. It didn't matter because Amy wrapped her arms around him and pulled them both to lie on the ground. Amy kissed Sheldon all over his face.

"You did well," Sheldon muttered as he pushed her away. "We can celebrate when we've finished our task." He was weak still, but he could stand. The pair of them stood and went to check on their friends.

"You'll have to go on without us," Leonard moaned weakly when he saw that two of the party were still able to get around.

"I can heal you," Sheldon offered. He wasn't a healer by nature, but he knew a few spells that could help. He wished he had brought potions, but there had not been time to prepare any before they left on this mission.

"You're already weak, and I've seen your healing spells. Just go and then collect us when you've procured the Gem," Leonard urged. He had already started working on bandaging Penny's broken arm. Their injuries would need a real healer.

Sheldon nodded. He made sure to leave them with a small spell to hide them from whomever might wander this way. Then he and Amy left to find the cave holding the Gem.

"You amaze me, Amy," Sheldon told her when they were out of earshot of their friends. "You are the most brilliant of my students, and I'm in awe of your power when you believe in yourself. I'm sorry that I was so hard on you during this journey."

"Oh. Wow. Thank you, Sheldon," Amy said. She still thought that Sheldon's name sounded strange on her tongue. She had called him Sir or Master for so long, but when they had fallen in love, he insisted that she call him by his name. She was also technically no longer one of his students, but this was the first time that she really felt like his equal. At least in the realm of magic. In their personal life, he had always treated her with respect.

Together they found the cave that the compass said held the Gem. They stepped into it, but Amy let Sheldon go first. That was until she saw the flat stone on the ground that seemed out of place. It was shiny and a different color than it's surroundings.

"Sheldon, stop!" Amy shouted.

He stopped immediately, which Amy took as a testament to how much he really did respect her now. He looked at her and she pointed to the stone. It was a clear booby trap.

"I guess we'll have to watch our steps then," he said as he pulled his foot away from the suspicious stone. Then he took Amy's hand and they carefully made their way into the cave.

Two more times, they were successful in seeing bobby traps before they were set off. The next time they weren't so lucky when Amy accidentally kicked a small stone that hit the wrong spot on the wall. The floor dropped out right under her, and she would have been gone forever if Sheldon hadn't been holding her hand. Even with that, Sheldon was knocked over and almost pulled down with her.

"I have you. Don't let go," Sheldon pled with her as she dangled. He pulled on her, but he was struggling to get her up back onto the steady ground.

"Magic," Amy reminded him. Despite he panic, she was levelheaded enough to remind Sheldon that he was a powerful mage. Sheldon was nowhere near calm to think of the spell he needed to use to get her back up.

"Sheldon," Amy screamed when she started to slip. She was sure this was the end, and she only prayed that Sheldon would find the Gem on his own and save their village. "I love you," she cried when she slipped again. She was sure that she was going to die here, and she wanted him to remember that she had always loved him even when she was gone.

Sheldon yelled the only words that came to mind and Amy was thrown from the pit right onto him. He huffed when her full weight landed on him, and it was the sweetest pain he had ever felt. Instead of falling to her death, she was nervously laughing and crying on top of him. He didn't request that she move for a long while. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I love you, too," he whispered into her hair. He didn't know what spell he recited, and he wasn't sure he could ever recreate it. It didn't matter. Amy was alive and well. That was all that mattered.

"We cannot continue," Sheldon told her when they finally calmed down, and Amy started to climb off of him.

"We must."

"You stay here. I'll go alone," Sheldon demanded.

"We have to continue together. Only together do we have the power to do this. You have to see that," Amy insisted. They had each saved the other over the course of this journey. She knew that in order to find the Gem, they would need to find it together.

"I need you safe," Sheldon admitted. He was so scared to lose Amy that he couldn't even think straight.

"I'll be safe by your side. Let's go," she said. Then she stood and held out her hand to Sheldon to help him up. He took it and stood.

The pair walked through the cave together. After a few more turns, they found it. Or at least they thought they did. The compass said that's where they are. However, the Gem was just a small, sand colored rock. It looked like every other rock in this cave, and the only reason that the pair suspected that this stone might be the Gem was that it was on a dais under a beam of light.

"Should we pick it up?" Amy asked.

Sheldon nodded and reached out to take it. He thought about telling Amy to step back because he was afraid it was another trap. The stone didn't budge. He pulled again, but it didn't move.

"Let me try," Amy said. She reached out and tried to move the stone. It didn't move for her either. "It is attached to the dais?"

"I don't know," Sheldon admitted. He reached out to help her pick up the stone. The small stone wasn't really big enough for two people to try to lift it at once, but as soon as they were both touching the small stone, it started glowing. They both pulled their hands away immediately.

"What did you do?" Amy asked.

Sheldon shook his head. They watched as the stone changed from sand colored to a dark blue gem.

"Should I take it?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes," Amy agreed.

This time Sheldon picked it up easily. They both watched while nothing happened other than a feeling of being recharged in both of them. The Gem might be for knowledge, but it also had other powers including strengthening those who possessed it.

"That's it? We have the Gem?" Amy asked.

"Yes. And you were right. We did need to do it together," he added with a smile. The Gem imparted that knowledge on them. It required two people who were bonded together in their love of learning. Out of the group, they were the only two who could have lifted it together.

"I'm always right," Amy said.

The pair carefully made their way out of the cave together. This time, they didn't set off any of the hidden traps because they both suddenly knew exactly where they all were.

When they returned to the rest of their group, Sheldon and Amy both knew all of the spells that they needed to use to heal their friends.

"We have to return home and use this to vanquish the king before the next full moon," Sheldon explained. The Gem would return to a different cave the morning after the full moon by its own magic, so they only had a small amount of time to use it.

However, with the Gem, Sheldon and Amy were able to lead the others home with very little effort. Then they ran off the king and his men with even less effort. Having saved the village, the seven heroes all lived happily ever after.

"I love a successful campaign," Leonard said as they started cleaning up.

"Amy and I saved the village. All you guys did was get hurt," Sheldon complained, but he smiled at Amy.

"I killed a dragon," Howard pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah," Sheldon said with a dismissive hand wave.

"I'm tired. Can we go home?" Amy asked Sheldon.

"It was a long trek. Goodnight, all," Sheldon said as they walked toward the door.

"What about cleaning up?" Leonard asked. Sheldon always insisted cleaning up the apartment after DnD nights.

"I don't live here anymore," Sheldon pointed out. Then he opened the door for Amy. Then they walked across the hall.

"It was kind of sweet how protective you were," Amy told him when they were alone in their apartment.

"That was my character."

"Oh," Amy muttered.

"Though, I do not wish you see you come to any harm," Sheldon said. "Let's keep our risk taking to fictional worlds. I'm not sure I have the upper body strength to pull you up while you dangle over a bottomless pit."

Amy went over to Sheldon and squeezed his upper arm. It felt sturdy, and she thought he might just be able to do it.

"I don't know. You seem pretty strong to me, hero," she told him.

Sheldon grinned at her. He liked the sound of her calling him hero.

"I saved the world and got the girl. Now it's time for bed," he said.

"Maybe I saved the world and got the boy."

Sheldon thought that sounded about right, but he didn't admit it. Instead, he just pushed Amy toward the bedroom so that they could get some sleep. Saving the world was tiring business.


End file.
